


The First Thing You Need to Know

by Amlette



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Female My Unit | Byleth, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-24 08:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21096530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amlette/pseuds/Amlette
Summary: Byleth was not a very good teacher when she first arrived at Garreg Mach. Thankfully she could use her blade to get her point across.





	The First Thing You Need to Know

Byleth stood in front of her class with no idea what to say. Her boot heels clicked in the silence as she paced at the front of the classroom. What had Lady Rhea been thinking, making her a professor? She was barely older than the students who eyed her warily as she glanced from face to face, unsure of where to begin.

Her gaze landed on Dimitri, who sat with his back straight, looking eager and ready to learn. He startled when their eyes met, then cleared his throat. “Professor,” he said cautiously, unsure if it was acceptable to speak out in front of the class. When he received no reprimand, he continued. “If you don’t yet know the proper procedure for lectures, I will tell you all that I know. Assuming that’s agreeable to you, of course.”

Byleth nodded.

“We have each identified certain goals for ourselves,” he continued, gesturing to the class roster that lay on Byleth’s desk. “It would be most appreciated if we could prioritize those subjects in our individual studies. After all, everyone has different strengths when it comes to battle.”

Byleth sighed in relief at having been given a subject to begin with. “Yes, an excellent point, Dimitri.” She began her pacing again, eyes glued to the floor in front of her feet, and tried to figure out what she was going to say. “The first thing you need know is that there are three types of soldier on the battlefield; melee, ranged, and support.” Byleth stopped mid-step and looked out over the students, some of whom were intently taking notes. “But you probably already knew that…” she trailed off awkwardly.

She thought back upon some of the battles she had fought as a mercenary, then took a deep breath and began again. “It’s important to know the strengths and vulnerabilities of your allies, so that you can fight together more effectively.”

Byleth braced her hands on her desk as she leaned forward to look over the class roster. She noticed a pair of students that might work together well based on their goals. “For example… Felix and Annette.” She heard the students shift as she called their names. “The two of you find yourselves facing a paladin and a mage. Which foe do each of you target?”

“Hmph, I’ll take them both on,” Felix responded immediately, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

She looked to Annette for her answer, who fidgeted in her seat before responding. “Umm, well it depends? Like, are they really far away? Are they already wounded? Oh, and what is the terrain like? How many other enemies are there?”

Byleth nodded in acknowledgement. “All important considerations, Annette, but in the heat of battle you won’t have time to think through all that. You need to be able to react instinctively,” she turned her head to focus her gaze on Felix, “and you need to rely on each other.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “I don’t need someone to watch my back,” he scoffed.

Byleth frowned at the self-assured swordsman. “It’s true that you may be able to defeat the foe in front of you on your own, but a real battlefield quickly becomes chaotic. At the very least, you need to trust your commander. It’s their job to consider the conditions of the whole battlefield and direct the troops accordingly.”

Byleth realized with sudden clarity as long as she was in charge of the Blue Lion house, she would be their commander on the battlefield as well. This newfound responsibility sent her into a mild panic.

Thinking aloud, she said “Perhaps I ought to watch you all spar so that I can get a better measure of your current abilities.” She grabbed the roster from her desk and began walking towards the door without waiting for the students to gather their things.

“Professor, wait!” Annette shouted. She had stood to follow, but leaned awkwardly over the desk with her quill still poised to continue taking notes. “What was the right answer to the question?”

Byleth paused for a moment, confused, then remembered the point she had been trying to make earlier. “Oh.” Was there really no one else at the monastery that would be a better teacher than her? “Felix should target the mage. Since they typically don’t wear heavy armor, they would go down easily against a melee unit.”

Annette scribbled furiously at her notes.

“You should aim for the horse. If you can unseat the paladin, you limit their mobility and they’ll be at a disadvantage.”

She nodded as she wrote down a few more lines, then followed the rest of the class out the door.

Once they reached the training grounds, Byleth double-checked the students’ goals and handed out practice weapons. When Dimitri approached, she held out a wooden sword for him to take. He hesitated and looked at the weapon confusedly. “Professor, I don’t mean to contradict you, but I’m quite capable with the lance.”

From behind him, Felix said, “Yeah, as long as you don’t break it in half.”

Dimitri’s cheeks flushed bright red.

“Why carry that around then, if you don’t know how to use it?” Byleth looked pointedly at the sword that hung at Dimitri’s hip.

“Well, I do know-” The prince’s blush deepened as he attempted a flustered response. “Um, it’s ceremonial, a symbol really, and-”

He was quieted when Byleth thrust the practice sword into his hands. “I don’t doubt that you can wield a lance well. But you must be prepared to use whatever you have available.”

Dimitri nodded. “Yes of course, Professor,” he said, dutifully taking the sword and stepping out of the queue.

After handing out the rest of the practice weapons, Byleth began to stroll around the courtyard, observing the students’ maneuvers. From a few steps away, she watched Ingrid’s form as she went through a series of thrusts with her training lance.

“Ingrid, you need to relax,” Sylvain said as he approached her from behind. “You’re way too stiff.” He reached out to massage her shoulders.

As soon as his hands neared Ingrid’s neck, she dropped the lance with a clatter and promptly threw her fist back above her shoulder to collide neatly with Sylvain’s nose. He groaned, clasping a hand over his injured face as he staggered off towards Mercedes for healing.

Ingrid noticed that Byleth had seen her drop her weapon and became embarrassed. “Sorry Professor, I’m just… sensitive there.”

Byleth bent over to pick up the dropped practice lance. “Be careful. You’ll want to avoid reactions like that on the battlefield,” she advised, handing the weapon back to her student.

Ingrid nodded in acknowledgement just as a pained grunt sounded from the other side of the courtyard. Byleth turned to watch as Dimitri confronted both Dedue and Felix. He was steadily losing ground against the two other men due to unfamiliarity with his current weapon.

She walked quietly around behind the trio to pick up a wooden sword for herself as Felix lashed out with a blow to Dimitri’s shoulder. The prince’s hand seized, causing him to drop his weapon.

“Not so tough without your tusks, are you, Boar?” Felix taunted, throwing his own sword to the side as well. He had a vicious gleam in his eye and cracked his knuckles as he advanced towards the prince, who raised his own gauntleted fists in answer.

Dedue seemed to sense that the fight had become personal and backed off as Felix swung his fist at the side of Dimitri’s head. The prince dodged and thrust his own fist towards Felix’s middle, who deftly side-stepped the strike.

The two circled each other for a few tense moments, until suddenly Felix charged straight towards Dimitri. He swung his left fist at the prince’s face again but followed up with a right hook to the gut, which sent the surprised prince staggering as he fell unceremoniously to the ground.

Felix looked down at Dimitri with a smirk on his face as Byleth crept up behind him. “See Boar? There’s more to fighting than just- augh!” Felix’s gloating was cut short as Byleth slammed her practice sword into the back of his knees, sending him face-first into the ground. He growled as he spun around in the dirt, glaring up at the professor. “What the hell?!”

Byleth looked down at her student without so much as a hint of emotion upon her face. “Should have had someone to watch your back,” she said calmly, turning to replace her sword on the rack.

Dimitri stood, dusting off his trousers. He sent a concerned glance at Felix, whose expression was still clenched in pain. “Professor, that really wasn’t very sporting of you,” he said, attempting to show some solidarity with the student that had just bested him, fair and square.

Byleth turned and faced her students. “Your enemies won’t play by the rules,” she said, returning her weapon to its proper place. “Class dismissed.”

* * *

Several days later, Byleth was rather pleased with herself as she walked through the reception hall on her way to dinner. Her lessons the previous week seemed to have sunk in, as she had just directed her students to victory in their first mock battle. She supposed having a lifetime of experience with her father’s mercenaries did give her somewhat of an advantage over a crest scholar and a songstress, but truly her students had done most of the work.

A shout started her from her thoughts. “Professor Byleth! We’ve been looking for you!” Dimitri’s voice called out from behind her. She turned around as he hurried up the stairs, followed by the rest of the Blue Lions. “I was hoping we could all share a meal together,” he said, placing his hands on his hips and catching his breath with a huff. He looked at her with eyes brightened by good spirits. “It could serve as both a victory celebration and a post-battle analysis. What do you think?”

Byleth was a little taken aback. Although she had encouraged the students to speak casually around her, she was surprised that they would want to spend time with her outside of class. “I’m invited?”

“Come now, Professor!” Sylvain said, throwing an arm around Byleth’s shoulders and steering her towards the dining hall. “We can’t very well celebrate without the key to our victory present.”

“He’s right! He really is!” Annette squealed excitedly. “We were only able to win because we had your help, Professor!”

Such emphatic praise made Byleth uncomfortable. “You all did the hard work,” she deflected as she ducked out from under Sylvain’s arm.

“No need to be so modest, Professor!” Ashe said, sending her a shy, admiring smile. “We would surely have lost without your guidance.”

“I’ll admit that your tactics were nearly decent,” Felix said begrudgingly.

“Felix!” Ingrid swatted at his arm in reprimand. “You really ought to be more respectful to Professor Byleth!”

“Pay him no mind, Professor,” Dimitri said encouragingly. “Although I must agree that your performance today was truly inspiring. I clearly have much to learn.”

The aroma of roasted meat wafted into the hall, causing Mercedes’ stomach to grumble. She groaned and leaned dramatically on Dedue. “Oh my, I’m so hungry I can barely stand…”

Dimitri chuckled. “It has been quite a trying day, has it not? Let us celebrate our hard-won victory together,” he said, gesturing towards the dining hall. He lingered behind with Byleth as the rest of the class followed his cue, chattering excitedly about the battle. “Professor, I’m sorry to intrude, but… you don’t look too happy for someone who just won.”

“Is that so?” Byleth supposed she probably didn’t, as she had never experienced emotions very strongly.

“Hm. Well, I understand how difficult it can be to accept joy sometimes.” He went silent for a moment then shook his thoughts from his head. “I’m sorry for prying. I know we only just met, so please forgive me if this is too forward, but…” He took a step towards her, a nervous smile gracing his face. “I’d love nothing more than to share our happiness with you. Joy can be so fleeting, after all.” He held his hand out for her to take. “Won’t you please join us, Professor?”

Byleth nodded, placing her palm in his, and allowed him to lead her to the celebration ahead.


End file.
